The English government has tackled head-on the need to cultivate
one essential twenty-first-century skill: computer literacy.
This year, schools began using the ICT Literacy Test for
students ages 11-14 to gauge not only their mastery of technical
skills but also their readiness to apply these skills effectively in
everyday life and work.

Far beyond the simple keyboarding tests of old, this exam challenges
students to create presentations with text and images,
manipulate databases, and write simple computer programming,
among other skills. Basic techniques such as saving information,
using email, and doing simple searches are included, too. The
test, taken entirely on a computer, embeds these assignments in
practical tasks, all done in the virtual town of Pepford.

This ICT Literacy Test item asks students to write a program controlling the operation of a parking-garage gate.

Credit: Courtesy of UK Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

To begin, a student might receive an email
from the director of the local visitor center assigning
him to design a tourist brochure, or from the
Pepford High School principal requesting that she
assess the effectiveness of a recent campaign to promote eating
fruit instead of candy. Then the student would use information,
charts, photographs, and other resources available within the virtual
Pepford world to solve the problem. Test makers designed a
full set of generic software -- an email program, a Web browser, a
database manager, and more -- to avoid endorsing any one commercial
brand or favoring students who are already familiar with
certain programs.

This item challenges students to use a database to assess the season ticket holders' program at WallyWood Theme Park.

Credit: Courtesy of UK Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Students' responses are scored dynamically, meaning that the
computer captures the process they use to answer a question.
For instance, if the test asks pupils to use a database to figure
how many musicians play rock music, they could do this simply by
counting or by using the filter, sort, or query tools. The computer
gives students credit for a right answer while also evaluating their
process and producing an instant report on how basic or advanced
their skills are.

By the end of 2008, a battery of fifteen- to thirty-minute tasks
will be available to teachers on demand, anytime. The test is not
mandatory, but it's free, and Walton expects most schools to use
it to help tailor instruction.

Creating a test like this demands investment of time and money:
All told, the QCA put about $46 million into this six-year project.

This article was updated on 4/08/08 to correct that the ICT literacy test is a program in England.